page_title: Murder of Harry Collinson
section_title: Murder
hierarchical_section_title: Murder of Harry Collinson / Murder
caption_attribution_description: English: Webley &amp; Scott Mk VI. Caliber .455 Collection Paul Regnier, Lausanne, Switzerland } Français&#160;: Revolver Webley Mk VI Русский: Револьвер Webley Mk VI
context_page_description: The murder of Harry Collinson, the planning officer for Derwentside District Council, took place in 1991 at Butsfield, County Durham, England. At the time of the murder, the Derwentside District Council was involved in a dispute with Albert Dryden over the erection of a building by Dryden on green belt land without planning permission. At approximately 9:00 am on 20 June 1991, as television news crews filmed, Dryden aimed a handgun—a .455 Webley Mk VI revolver—at Collinson and shot him dead. As the journalists and council staff fled, Dryden opened fire again, wounding television reporter Tony Belmont and Police Constable Stephen Campbell.
  A standoff situation followed as armed police officers—who had been on stand-by for the incident at nearby Consett—raced to the scene and Dryden retreated to a caravan on the property. Dryden warned them that the buildings were booby trapped with explosives, that he had planted land mines in the ground around the property, and had a cache of hand grenades inside the caravan. At approximately 11:20 am, police negotiators offered to install a field telephone to enable them to better communicate with him.
context_section_description: During negotiations in front of a range of television and newspaper reporters, Dryden shot Collinson in the chest at point blank range. As the assembled reporters, council staff and three unarmed police officers—Sgt Colin Campbell, PC Stephen Campbell and PC Ian Kirkup of Durham Constabulary—fled for cover, Dryden climbed over the property's fence and shot Collinson again as he lay in a ditch where he had fallen. Dryden then opened fire on the fleeing group, hitting PC Campbell in the thigh and BBC Look North reporter Tony Belmont in the arm. Seeing a police vehicle—carrying Superintendent Stan Hegarty and Inspector Geoff Young—approaching, Dryden shot at the vehicle, forcing it to reverse away at speed. He then reloaded and walked back to where the demolition vehicles were parked, firing twice into an excavator, twice into a low loader and once into a car. Dryden then returned to where Collinson lay and shot him again in the lower face and chest.
  The incident was captured on camera and transmitted on the BBC's regional news programme Look North. The footage shows Collinson asking the camera crew to take a shot of Dryden's gun. The camera pans to Dryden, who fires the gun at Collinson (now off-screen). As everyone (including crew) disperses, Dryden shoots and wounds the police officer and the reporter. A fuller version of the footage, including a prior visit and the aftermath of the shooting, now forms part of the BBC's filming safety internal training course.
  A subsequent search of the property and Dryden's home at Priestman Avenue, Consett, uncovered 10 handguns, 15 rifles, three shotguns, two homemade mortars with eight projectiles, an improvised propane bomb, and a 20mm cannon modified to be attached to one of his vehicles. Dryden had no firearms licence, and all the weapons were illegally held.
  Following the murder, it became known that Collinson and Dryden had previously enjoyed a friendly relationship, with Collinson regularly visiting the Eliza Lane property to advise Dryden on planting trees for screening and what type of building work was permitted. However, Dryden's increasingly bizarre behaviour, his decision to dig a deep trench in which to build the bungalow with just the roof showing, and his threats towards—and physical assaults against—council staff brought the men into conflict. It was also revealed that the council had wanted to visit the site under cover of darkness to carry out the demolition, when Dryden would have been asleep at his home several miles away in Consett; Collinson disagreed with this underhand tactic and insisted that their actions should take place during the day and in the presence of the media to avoid any allegations of inappropriate conduct. Collinson also did not expect Dryden to back down, and arranged for a camera crew employed by the council to record the confrontation, which would allow the council to retreat without demolishing the building, instead passing the footage to the High Court to allow them to deal with the matter.
caption: A .455 calibre Webley revolver of the type used by Dryden
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